Board of department store to approve fourth outlet in the capital as shopping
centre discloses ambitious proposal for £1bn expansion

The department store chain John Lewis is close to agreeing a deal to open its fourth London store at an extension of the Westfield shopping centre.

It is understood that the retailer is keen to open at the west London site but a final decision will be taken at board meeting for the John Lewis Partnership scheduled for next month.

Westfield has drawn up ambitious plans to extend its shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush, which opened in 2008. It has outline planning permission for work to begin on a £1bn scheme next to the existing centre that includes 550,000 sq ft of retail, led by a department store, along with 1,500 homes, restaurants and offices.

The new John Lewis would provide competition to the Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and House of Fraser stores already at the Westfield centre.

It would also provide the retailer, which has 39 stores across the UK, with its first store in the wealthy west London area.

At present, John Lewis has London stores at Oxford Street and Brent Cross shopping centre in north London. In 2011, the company opened its first new London store for 20 years at Westfield’s Stratford City centre next to the Olympic Park, which has proved to be a highly profitable success.

Andy Street, the boss of John Lewis, has spoken of his aspirations to grow the department store chain to 60 stores across the UK.

It is developing stores in Birmingham and York, but is also keen on areas such as Manchester and Guildford.

It is understood that John Lewis has held talks with Westfield and Hammerson, the FTSE 100 property developer, about anchoring their planned shopping development in Croydon, south London, which is earmarked to be the biggest urban retail development in Europe.

John Lewis sales have risen strongly since the onset of the recession as its online business has grown and its clothing, once seen as dull, has taken a market share from rivals.

Sales figures from the company show that sales have increased by 7.6pc compared to a year ago and online sales have risen by 20pc, with electricals driving the growth. The John Lewis Partnership, which also includes the supermarket group Waitrose, will report half-year results next month.

The company’s sales rose 6.6pc in the first half of 2013.

The business revealed last week that the half-year results will include a £40m one-off payment to staff after it discovered that it was miscalculating their holiday pay.

A spokesman for the company said: “John Lewis is always looking at new opportunities for expansion and growth however, we don’t comment on market speculation.”